Our BIG Redneck Weekend

Okay, okay. I am about to say one of those things that once annoyed me beyond belief!....

 Boy, how your life changes after you have little ones! I guess I really don't mind people saying that, but, for whatever reason, I think that it annoyed me when people would say that TO me when I was pregnant....like...duh... I didn't know it!!! So, I say this not to TELL anyone as if they don't know what they are in for when they have children, BUT to emphasize how OUR lives have changed since entering parenthood...IN. EVERY. ASPECT. In areas that you wouldn't really think about.

I think that people most likely see there lives changing in the departments that are obvious....sleep, money, energy, time, etc. I don't think that anyone quite realizes that lives change in a lot more ways than that....funny ways!!! Let's give some examples:

1. Conversation-I get so tickled by some of the conversations that Cody and I have!!! We no longer talk about the things that we once did.  We usually have the discussion of how many poops our children have done, if they have eaten well, what havoc has occurred while we are work, etc. NEVER would I have imagined that these sorts of things would consume our conversations!

2. Interests- Of course, interests change as everyone ages....BUT I almost fell on the floor when Cody expressed interest in taking the kids to a Yo Gabba Gabba concert. Yes...YOU READ RIGHT. Isn't that the most hilarious thing that you have heard?! I can see Cody rockin' out to DJ Lance (and I guess that it is kinda' funny that I know that man's name, too). It's also sweet,though. Cody has literally given up four wheelers, golf, and all of those other hobbies that he has taken up along the years to become a Yo Gabba Gabba fan...HA!

3. Language-I find it SO hilarious how much our language has changed since having children. We now speak" two-year-old." I find myself saying things exactly the way Faith and Cam say them....and I am sure that I don't sound near as cute when I do so...ha! For example, "Mawee"...Mallory, "Camen"...Cameron, "Pease"...please, "Tetchup"...ketchup, etc! 

Ahhhh of course, there are many more ways that your life changes, but I find these three the most hilarious! Now, let's reflect back on number two.... interests....the whole purpose of this post (sorry I got a little bit side-tracked).   Cody is not the only one, who has a change of heart when it comes to doing whatever it takes to entertain the kiddos. This weekend, I did two things that I would not picture myself doing. Most people reading this post may find it humorous that I have NEVER done one of the things that I am about to discuss. Call me deprived or not truly southern...whatever. I'm just not interested in....RODEOS! Never have. Never did....and after attending....never will. BUT...if it makes my kids happy, then that is what I will do! Check it out....

 Okay...so no one looks happy in this picture, but I think that the kids liked the rodeo. They sat and watched for the most part and seemed entertained.

 This was probably the highlight of Faith and Cam's night. They like climbing and sitting on the "gate."

Cameron wanted to sit up high so badly that he let a complete stranger hold him!

So, overall, I was not so impressed by rodeos....just not my thing. For the most part, I was thinking of how many hours I was missing on sleep....it was a late night for us! BUT...it really didn't matter what I thought. We got Faith, Cameron, and Mallory out of the house for the night and doing something different!

Moving on to the next event of the weekend....another pastime that I have ZERO interest in....tractor pulls. Cody has become rather obsessed with the things so we naturally had to take the kiddos....and MY. OH. MY. Talk about having my hands full. Thank goodness for some help from family members that were there...or I would have never survived! All three kiddos were going in different directions. This is not the place to be roaming, either. Lot's of people. Lots of moving vehicles. I must say that the kids LOVED it....not so much the actual event but the idea of being wild and free! Here are some pictures.

On the way!

 Mallory was the only one that would participate in the pedal tractor race...she earned her first trophy! My pretty girl....notice she is supporitng DSD.

 ...and she is OFF!

 Cameron thought that the tractors were LOUD!!!

 My little cutie!

 ...and here they are all pooped out. If you look closely, you can see Mallory in the background knocked out, too....and me looking mean as the devil because we were still at this thing at 11:30!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, yes...your life changes in more ways than one when you have kiddos. You might find yourself saying things AND doing things that you never dreamed that you would do. My advice is...never say never and be prepared to always eat your words. Because....I do recall a day that I claimed, I will NEVER go rodeos or tractor pulls!!!

Easter

Although I really LOVE holidays, they are so exhausting. A great time was had, but it left me pooped, and I'm still trying to recover!

We began the tradition of coloring eggs on the Friday before Easter. I actually forgot about the whole thing so I had to pack the kids up by my lonesome, head to Ingles, and buy some eggs! We didn't get too elaborate...nothing special at all. The kids liked it, though!

On Saturday, we had the egg hunt at the church. I had practiced with the kiddos in advance and I was 100% positive that they were ready. I. WAS. WRONG. What is it with kids and how they make liars out of you???!!!

Faith and Cameron were not interested. Mallory was somewhat so. Unfortunately, my camera died and I did not get many pictures at this outing...

They didn't want to hunt eggs, but they sure wanted to jump!

Hanging out with Daddy.

On Sunday, we raced to get ready for church. We made it right on time, and I was very proud. We snapped a few pictures of the fam together. We rarely get to do this.

After church, our first Easter feast was at Pat and YaYa's. Lunch was delicious and, it was then round two for egg hunting. I am very pleased to say that the kiddos did better...

...I said better! Cam still wasn't SUPER pumped about it.

Faith was ready to go, though! YAY, Faith!

I was so proud of little Mallory! She even picked up her own eggs and put them in the basket!

Cameron finally threw his bucket down, grabbed one egg at a time, opened it, put the candy in his pocket, and continued on. It was hilarious.

Then, it was time to head on down to MeMe and Poppy's....and another great meal. Round three of egg hunting continued to be a positive experience! YAY!

WOW, Faith!

Go, Mallory, Go!

Oh, and I almost forgot! The Easter bunny came to town, too!

So glad that we go to spend a wonderful holiday with wonderful family! It was a good day...just a little tiring!

Mallory's Injury

I am fairly certain that I will soon receive a visit from DFACS. I mean, c'mon...WHO IN THE WORLD HAS TWO KIDS IN CASTS IN THE MATTER OF THREE WEEKS???!!! Let me answer that...me.

...and this is how it all began...

Wednesday started out as a typical day. I was tired. I didn't want to go to work (although I had just had taken a day to take Mallory to her one year appointment on Tuesday). Nonetheless, I was at school at 6:45am running around like a crazy woman....typical day.

I received a call around 11:00am. It was actually strange that I had my cell sitting right beside me during one of my lessons and heard the thing vibrating. When I saw it was Cody, I definitely knew SOMETHING was up...I was sincerely hoping for once that it was him calling begging for that dumb dog that he is relentlessly bargaining for. Unfortunately...not. It seemed that he was at home, Mallory had some how gotten her toe slammed in the door, and I needed to come home....great. My poor baby is injured and all I can think about after the instant need to leave is, "OMG....I have to take ANOTHER day off of work???!!! I have student teachers here!!! They need me!!!" The joys of being a teacher! I left school hating that little Mallory had been hurt, but I almost doubted the severity. I kept asking Cody over the phone, "Do you really think that it needs stitches???" Oh, BOY. I had no idea.

When I got home, I saw a toe looking somewhat like this...actually worse because this is a shot after it had been cleaned....

I didn't know how in the world it could be fixed. It looked SO terrible that I didn't know what part of the toe was hanging on by a thread. Was it her toe nail, her toe, or both???!!! The sitter was beyond hysterical, Cody had to go back to work, and I needed to take Mallory somewhere! So, who do I call? Poppy. Thank you God for Poppy. His retirement couldn't have come at a better time! He practically drove me to every appointment when I was expecting the twins, rescued me countless times when I had two screaming infants, and comes whenever called upon. Against my better judgement, I went to the hospital in Greensboro.  I am not going to slander the hospital or anything, but, let's just say that after our visit I immediately called the pediatrician, who recommended that we go to the orthopedic...yes...the same one that we just left last week to get Cameron's cast off. Yay.

Now, Mallory is likely the strongest, toughest, sweetest character that I have come into contact with. Her toe was practically hanging off and she was just sitting in her seat, smiling like nothing in the world happened. When we got to the orthopedic, She continued to speak to every person that she saw and entertain...poor thing...she didn't know what she was in for...

The doctor recommended that we stitch the little toe back together...since nothing had been done to it elsewhere. This meant that Mallory had to be swaddled to keep her arms in and we had to hold her legs down. It took two nurses, my dad, and the doctor for this. It was the most pitiful thing that I have witnessed in a long time. We sang, talked, and stroked but nothing helped. When it was over, we had an intact toe and a little pink boot.....

See.. my little ANGEL was all smiles all swaddled up. This was BEFORE the stitches.

 

The "new shoe"  

Mallory recovered immediately as soon as we picked her up. She is walking on the cast just fine and is her normal, sweet self. We are unsure if the nail will ever grow back but time will tell.  The bone is okay, and that is more than I could have hoped for when I first saw that poor little toe! We go back Monday just to give it a check....and while we are at it...let me say that the PA at Athens Orthopedic was wonderful...so compassionate. She even called today to check on my sweet girl and offered for me to call her at any time.

Faith and Cam are interested in Mallory's new shoe. They say, "Mallory shoe."  All I can say is, "Please God, do not let it be Faith's turn next."

PICS COMING SOON

The Lessons of Spring Break

Spring Break was wonderful. ABSOLUTELY. WONDERFUL.  Although I didn't get much rest, I sure did enjoy every single second with Faith, Cameron, and Mallory. As every day is a learning experience here at the Patrick household, Spring Break brought many lessons....and each one I enjoyed learning.

Lessons Learned:

Never underestimate your children. Wow. Faith, Cameron, and Mallory did things that shocked me during the break. Mallory is doing so many things that clearly indicates that she is truly watching and listening....closely.  She is imitating things that Faith and Cam do (sometimes not a good thing!), and she often carries out tasks when given simple directions. It is sad to say, but I have not had such an opportunity to see these things until my break! Faith and Cameron are always trying new things. While Cameron is more eager to build ramps and do "boy things," Faith is beginning to talk my head off. The things that she comes out with are hilarious and amaze me.  I love watching Cameron quietly and intently play with his toys, devising a new and cool way to carry out a plan....so sweet and smart.  Finally, all three of my kiddos have been great during out many outings. Although I would never imagine them to behave so perfectly, I think that they knew that mommy needed them to be good. I am beginning to be able to reason with them...this is so exciting. My babies are growing up...not as exciting but more sad!


Get ready for stares.  Yes. As the kids get older, I am taking them more places all at the same time. What I have learned and continued to do so during our trip to Cam's orthopedic, is get ready for stares. I mean, I guess I can understand it. Here I come clearly struggling carrying Faith and Cameron (one on each hip) with my mom following behind with the diaper bag and Mallory. Yes...I can understand we cause a spectacle. I've gotten raised eyebrows to giggles. Cameron's orthopedic said, "Wow. You've got all kinds of youngins'."  As I was walking out the door at the doctor's (with my pants about to fall down because the weight of Faith and Cameron were pulling on them-another lesson-don't wear elastic pants while carrying 20+ pounds on each hip), a lady said, "I bet you can do things that you never imagined that you could." Yep....which brings me to the next lesson learned..

I can do more than I thought. Over the break, I ventured to take all three kiddos out by myself...TWICE. We visited Home Depot to get some flowers and Ingles to buy the weekly groceries.  Home Depot proved to be more difficult since the kids took up the entire buggy and I had no room for flowers...yet another lesson learned. The kids were great during both trips. however, and I felt a sense of accomplishment after the trips were over. I am looking forward to this summer and taking them out more on my own!

I am raising rednecks. Funny and true....Faith and Cameron have become very interested
in guns and duck calls...thanks Cody.  Cody purchased Faith and Cameron  toy guns (I protested but lost).  Now, they can't wait to go outside and, "Shoot birds." Yep, they love it. As I ran in Target to pick up a few things, I returned to the car to find Faith, Cameron, and Mallory watching a duck calling video with their dad and Faith blowing the duck call. She was super pumped about the whole thing. The scary thing is that I don't mind so much. They are the cutest little rednecks that I have ever seen!

Spring Break left me longing....longing for a permanent break. Yep. I so want to be a stay-at-home mommy. The wonderful break left me rather sad a depressed on Monday morning. VERY. MUCH. SO. Although I LOVE my little kiddos at school, I was raised in a family where mommy pushed a career to the side to care for her babies...something that I cherish to this day. My childhood was so very wonderful and I contribute much of that to my mother staying with me. Now, DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND. It is perfectly possible for children to have wonderful childhoods when their mother works.....BUT...I would love to be able to provide my kids with a childhood that mirrored my own. Just my personal desire. I know this is not possible at this point. So, I will continue to be thankful for a job that allows me holidays and summers with my kids...not to mention that I actually enjoy teaching (when things go according to plan).

Yes, Spring Break was great! It was everything that I thought it would be. Exciting. Tiring. Wonderful. Perfect. Looking forward to the summer, now! Only 31 more days to go!

Slippin' and Slidin'

On Thursday, we headed down to MeMe and Poppy's to have some fun! I had purchased this super cute inflatable pool that had an attached slide and sprinklers. My niece and nephews were over, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity for the kiddos to play...we hardly get to see them enough!

Last summer, the kids were water ducks, but you never know with kids! I kept my fingers crossed that they would still love it...AND THEY DID. Cameron likely LOVES it the most!

One of the little dare-devils. :0

A face full of water...and he loves it!

HA! Not sure what's going on here!

Precious!

So fun!

Little Mallory preferred MeMe's lap...not sure the reason. I think Faith and Cam made her mad, and she was DONE!

Having a blast on Spring Break! Can't wait for summer!



My Monkeys at the Zoo

I always laugh and joke about having little monkeys. They love to climb. They love to swing. They...well...like to act like monkeys! So, a zoo trip seemed fitting for my little monkeys!  It was a great trip, and I am super proud of the way my children behaved. They sat in their strollers the ENTIRE time. When we would get them out to get a better glimpse of the animals, they were always willing to get back in. They never cried. They never whimpered. They were simply angels. The trip went WAY better than I had imagined. Although we are now home and I am beyond exhausted, I can not blame the exhaustion on the kiddos' behavior....it was simply the walking and waiting in lines.

I am posting some pics below. I think the kids really enjoyed it. When I ask Faith what her favorite animal that she saw was, she says, "Ummm...Efants (elephants)!" It's so darn cute! Then, I told her that she was a big girl. She said, "No....Efants big." Love it! I really don't know how I am going to go back to work next week. I'm having such a good time!

Cam looking at the elephant.

Had to post a pic of the elephant since it WAS the highlight of the trip!

Mallory interested in the pandas...the birthday girl.

They love the tigers!

Cam on the train....looks sad, but it could have been the long wait!

My blue-eyed beauty!

Although, Faith SAYS that her favorite was the elephant, I would have sworn that it was the snakes. These two were super excited about seeing the snakes. Can you tell? They kept shouting, "EWWWWW!!!"

It was such a good day!....but it almost killed me! :)



Happy Birthday Mallory!

Sometimes when people say that the time has flown by, I have a hard time believing them.  I mean, how many times do we say that our day is dragging by...whether it is at work or at home?  I can truly say that this year seems to have disappeared overnight, however. From the moment that I found out I was expecting a third bundle, things became a blur.  My pregnancy with Mallory and her entire first year have been a whirlwind. The time REALLY seemed to fly by. Cliche...but true.

I type this exactly one year to the day and time that I anxiously anticipated the arrival of our little bundle.  I recall sending Faith and Cameron to bed being somewhat concerned about how my little ones would accept another little one! Oh, there were SO many uncertainties. How in the world would we handle THREE under 15 months? Could we manage physically, emotionally, and even financially?  BUT...when there is a will....there IS a way!  Although there were uncertainties, I NEVER once thought that we could NOT do it...and I thank God for giving me that sense of strength and comfort.

Whether we were ready or not, baby Patrick was coming! I remember frantically putting together her crib only days before her delivery as we discussed names! Mallory Jo Patrick came into our lives the morning of April 4, 2011.  She was positively perfect...everything an angel could be. It seemed unreal that only two short years before, we were unsure if parenthood was in our future. It was all in God's timing. We have been truly blessed with three of God's miracles.

Where do I begin with my Mallory? Well, she has taught me so many things. She has taught me that my heart could hold a boundless amount of love. Who knew that a heart could love three beings so much...but so differently and in the same amounts!!!???   She has amazed me with her sweet demeanor. I never knew a baby so content...she has proven to me that having three may not be so hard after all! She has displayed qualities that I wish that I could see more in myself...patience, a free spirit, and an ability to never meet a stranger.  From her beautiful blue eyes to sweet, innocent smile she is a perfect little angel. An angel that I didn't know that I needed...an angel that I never dreamed that I would have.  Thank you, God, for sending her.

Now, let's move on to the celebrating!!!

Since Easter weekend followed Mallory's actual birth date, we decided to throw her party the weekend before. The theme selected was, "Some Bunny is Turning One." I thought it was SUPER cute! :)  We had a good time. Here are some pics...

Here is my little bunny :) She finally got a chair like her big brother and big sis!

Enjoying a book from MeMe and Poppy

Yay! A toy!

NOT having the bunny ears...OH WELL.

I did not get many pics of the refreshments...which I am disappointed in (but birthday parties make me nervous and I let things slip my mind). Anyway, we had bunny cookies, bunny sandwiches, spinach dip, deli spirals, chocolate covered strawberries, cheese straws, and cupcakes. Mallory's smash cake was a bunny....you can somewhat see it here.

Dig in!

Happy 1st Birthday Mallory! We love you more than you will ever know!!!